Electrical contactor



July 13, 1965 J.scHE1B,JR

ELECTRICAL CONTACTOR 6 Sheets-Sheet 1 Filed June 25, 1964 July 13, 1965J. SCHEIB, .JR 3,194,920

ELECTRICAL CONTACTOR Filed June 23, 1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 2 July 13, 1965J. scHElB, JR 3,194,920

ELECTRICAL CONTACTOR Filed June 23, 1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 No ma s wa lTJ. ll.

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July 13, 1965 .1. scHElB, JR

ELECTRICAL CONTACTOR 6 Sheets-Sheetl 4 Filed June 23, 1964 p-lloINVENTOR. JOHN Sams/s, d,

July 13, 1965 J. scHElB, JR 3,194,920

ELECTRICAL coNTAcToR Filed June 25, 1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 5 :OO Si' an@ nINVENTOR kJ/wv SCA/Cus, de

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ELECTRICAL GONTAGTOR Filed June 23, 1964 6 Sheets-Sheet 6 Ti E E. L90 l/b 187 MQW 9 Y \Ir\*4 Blq u 35H0 D o E 295 2m 28% C L 'Fig 2 E1.

INVENTOR.

dOf//y Sens/5, da P /f ATTO/WYE? 3,194,920 ELECTRICAL CGNTAQTR lohnScheib, lr., Elmsford, NY., assigner to Viard Leonard Electric Co.,Mount Vernon, NSY., a corporation of New York Filed June Z3, i954, Ser.No. 377,333 21 Claims. (5l. M30-lud) This is a continuation-in-part ofmy copending application Serial No. 130,090 filed August 8, 1951, andentitled Electrical Contactor which is now abandoned.

This'invention relates to electrical contactors and is directedparticularly to the dynamic components of the contactor and the casingsupporting and housing the electrical units of the contactor.

An object of the invention is to provide an electrical contactor with aminimum number of parts that are easily assembled into a properlyoperating contactor.

Another object of the invention is to provide an electrical contactorformed of separable parts that are assembled into an operable contactorwith a minimum of threaded or similar fasteners to retain the parts inposition.

Another object of the invention is to provide an electrical ,contactorin which the operable parts may be inspected while in place and whilethe contactor is mounted on a panel.

Another object of the invention is to provide parts of an electricalcontactor that is inexpensive to manufacture and easily assembled With aminimum of maniplative movements.

Other and further objects of the invention will be apparent from thefollowing description taken in connection with the drawings, in Which-FIG. 1 is an assembled perspective view of the electrical contactor;

FIG. 2 is a top View of the attaching supporting member with theclosingsupporting member removed to illustrate the electrical and magneticcomponents, and a sectional view of the fastening member taken alonglines 2;-2 of FIG. l;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the contactor taken along lines 3-3 ofFIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is an end viewv of the assembled contactor with the fasteningmember fragmentized to illustrate the xed contacts;

FIG. 5 illustrates the assembled contactor with the fastening memberspaced for insertion into place;

FIG. 6 illustrates the attaching supporting member with the armature andcontact carrier in place and the electromagnetic coil and core removed;

FIG. 7 illustrates an exploded view of the core and electromagneticcoil;

FIG. 8 is a perspective and exploded view of the components and members;

FIG. 9 is a perspective View of the fixed contact;

FIG. l is a perspective view of the movable Contact;

FIG. ll is a fragmentary sectional view of the supporting members andthe fastening member taken along lines 11-11 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 12 is a fragmentary sectional view of the fixed contact mountingmeans;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary View of another embodiment illustrating thelower supporting member with a fragmentary half of the fixed contactillustrated in section and the other half of the lower supporting memberillustrated without the fixed contact support, contact carrier and theelectromagnet unit;

FIG. 14 is a fragmentary sectional View of an assembled contactor takenalong lines 14--314 of FIG. 13;

FIG. l is a fragmentary side view of the end of an assembled contactor;

United States Patent O FIG. 16 is a fragmentary sectional view of anassembled contactor taken along lines 16-16 of FIG. 13;

FIG. 17 is a fragmentary top View of another embodiment of the contactand armature carrier;

FIG. 18 is a `fragmentary sectional view taken along linesof FIG. 17;

FiG. 19 is a rear View of the contact carrier;

FIG. 20 is a fragmentary view of a contactor illustrating an embodimentof the carrier in two pieces;

FIG. 2l is a fragmentary side View of the embodiment of the carrier withthe upper and lower members illustrated in section;

FIG. 22 is a plan View of the lower supporting member with theelectromagnet, contact carrier and contacts;

FIG. 23 is a plan View of the upper supporting member;

FIG. 24 is a front View of the upper and lower supporting members withthe fastening member fragmentarily shown;

FIG. 25 is a side View of the upper and lower supporting members withthe front portions partially fragmentized along lines 25-25 of FIG. 24;

FIG. 26 is a fragmentary top View of the fastening member;

FlG. 27 is a sectional view of the upper and lower supporting memberstaken along lines 27-27 of FIG. 22 and a front View of thecontactcarrier mounted therein; and

FIG. 28 is a fragmentary sectional View of one of the electromagneticholding means.

Referring to the drawings, the electrical contactor 20 is mounted in ahorizontal position on a vertical panel 21 by screws `or bolts with thedynamic elements of the contactor reciprocating horizontally, In thedescribed embodiment the supporting members 24 and 26 extendhorizontally to form the member 24 as a lower member and the member 26as an upper cover member. The member 24 has a vertical mounting base 25molded as a single piece with the lower member. The base extends belowthe lower member 24 and above the upper member 26 to provide for thenotches 27' through which the screws 23 extend.

The lower member supports the electromagnetic coil 23, core 29, carrier3;@ with armature 31 and movable contacts 32. The fixed contacts 33, 34are mounted in the lower and upper members respectively. The uppermember sets on top of the lower member and is held in place by the hooks11d fitting in the notches 119 and the fastening means 120.

The electromagnetic coil 2li may be of a conventional type with thewinding encapsulated in epoxy resin to provide accurate dimensions. Ahole 35 is provided through the coil for receiving the center leg 36 ofthe E-shaped core 3'?. The outer legs 3S, 39 form the outer magneticpath in cooperation with the armature 31 and the cross leg 40. Terminals41 are provided in the coil to supply electric current to the coil forenergizingthe contactor. The outer legs 3S, 39 have end surfaces 38a,39a engaged by the ground surfaces 31a, lb of the armature. T he core isof conventional laminated ferromagnetic steel and the surfaces of thecore are ilat for snugly fitting in position.

The movable contact carrier is preferably made of nylon and has agenerally U shape formed by the guide members 42a, 4211 and a crossmember 44 with projections 45 for holding the movable contacts 32. Thecarrier is of a rectangular configuration with the upper and lowersurfaces being planar to form flat guide surfaces een, 47a and 46.71,flb on the guide members 42a, 42h (FIG. 8). The side surfaces 48, 49 ofthe guide members are also flat for reciprocally engaging the side walls'71, '72 (FIG. 2). The inner surface 5,0 on the cross member 4-4 is flatand seats on the end surface 51 of the core on deenergization of thecontactor (FIG. 7). The projections 45 have rectangular slots 52extending in the direction of movement of the carrier. The walls of thea slots are vertical to vertically support and guide the movable contact32. Helical springs 53 forming a resilient means are positioned in theslots 52 to press the movable contacts 32 into engagement with the fixedcontacts 33, 34.

The movable contacts are formed of thin fiat metallic pieces havingcontact buttons 54 on each end and a loop 55 in the middle. The ends ofthe helical springs fit in the loop to hold the springs and contactstogether and in place. In the side edges of the contacts are notches 56for engaging the upper and lower surfaces 46, 47 and positioning thebuttons in relation to the fixed contacts. In the slots on the crossmember 44 are bosses 57 for seating and positioning the springs. At theother end of the carrier the armature 31 extends between the ends of theguide members 42a, 42b.

The armature is made of laminated ferromagnetic steel and is of ageneral elongated rectangular shape with a width substantially greaterthan its thickness. The armature has two ground surfaces 31a, 311;raised from the side 58 to space the side from the center leg 36 of theferromagnetic core. The ends of the armature have grooves 66a, 60bextending the full width of the armature (FIG. 6). The grooves haveoverlapping lips 61a,

61h extending over the groove to partly close it. The

guide members 42a, 4211 have keys 63, 64 extending from the end to fitin the grooves and under the respective lips. The contact carrier isnarrower than the armature so that the armature extends above and belowthe carrier.

The lower member 24 has a bottom panel 70 and side walls 71, 72extending perpendicular to the panel and forming with the base a chamber'73 for receiving the actuating and actuated components (FIG. 8). At thefront of the lower member are mounting means 74 for supporting the fixedcontacts 33, 34. The mounting means comprises a block portion 75extending across the front of the lower member. The block portion has aplurality of aligned holes 76 evenly spaced across the member. The holes76 are each rectangular in shape and have a cylindrically shaped bottom77 to receive the U- shaped portion 80 of the fixed contact 33. Thecontact button is mounted on the leg 79 extending upwardly above theblock to position the contact button 33a in the path of the respectivemovable contact buttons 54. On the other leg of the U-shaped portion 80the L-shaped terminal portion 81 extends towards the front forattachment of leads to the contactor.

Between the holes '76 are partitions S4, 85, 36 extending between thecontact carrier projections to isolate the movable contacts and thefixed contacts. The partitions have portions 84a, 85a, 86a reduced inthickness to provide space for projections 45. Steps S411, Sb, Seb areprovided to receive the crosspiece of the contact carrier and providesurfaces 84C, 85C, 36e on which the cross member 44 rests andreciprocates. On the front of the lower member the terminal portions 81are isolated and recessed by the extensions 84d, 85d, 36d. On theoutside the side walls 71, 72 extend to recess the end terminals.

The side walls have grooves or channels 8S, 89 in which the legs 42a,42b of the contact carrier move. On the vertical surfaces are bosses 99,91 with flat vertical guide surfaces and on the horizontal surface arehorizontal bosses 92, 93 at the same level or height as the surfaces84e, 85e, 86e to evenly support the carrier. Since the armature 31 iswider than the carrier the channels have deeper portions 88a, 89a tospace the walls from the armature. The armature 31 rests on the supports94 extending uward from the bottom 711.

The core 37 is positioned in the lower member by setting on the posts95, 96, 97 which are of the same height from the panel 70. The core hasprojections 98, 9@ engaging steps 100, 101 to hold the core against theends of the partitions 84a, 85a, 86a. The coil bears against the support94 and the core crosspiece 411. The side surfaces 163, 104 bear againstthe walls 71, 72 to prevent sidewise movement. Thus the core and coilare held snugly in place. The posts 95, 96, 97 support the core abovethe bottom of the lower member to provide space for the coil 28.

The contact carrier is recessed in the lower member and the armature 31extends above the side walls. The core 29 also extends above the walls asimilar amount so that the contacting surfaces 31a, 31h and 38a, 39a arecoextensive.

The armature is spaced from the core on deenergization by springs 11.15located in the channels S8, 89 between the cross member 44 of thecarrier and the end surfaces 166 facing the carrier.

The upper member 26 is complementary to the lower member and has a toppanel 116 extending parallel to 'the ybot-tom 70 of the lower member andthas an opening 111 for the terminal 41 of the coil. Side walls 112, 113extend from the top and are above the contact carrier. Opposite thebosses 92, 93 Aon the lower side walls are horizontal lateral bosses1414, 115 providing a narrow contact Aarea for the upper surfaces 46a,46b of the contact carrier. On .the front end of the upper member slopedsurfaces 116 match with the sloped surfaces 117 on the lower member. Theside walls 71, 72 are higher than the side walls 112, 113 in order torecess the contact carrier and the walls 116, 117 reflect the differencein width. The hooks 118 on the rear end of the upper member and fittingin the notches 119 in the base are drawn against the base vto firmly.mount the upper member on the lower member with the walls 112, 113engaging the walls 71, 72. The front part of the upper member is similarto the front part of the lower member. The fixed contact supportingblock `121 extends across the front and has evenly spaced square slopedIholes 122 with cylindrical bot-toms `123. Partitions 124, 125, 126 areprovided between the holes to isolate the fixed contacts 34 withrespective movable contact 32. The partitions have portions 124a,v12.541, 12er: reduced in thickness to provide enlarged spaces betweenthe partitions for the movable contacts. The fixed contacts 34 areidentical to the fixed contacts 33 and fit into the holes 122 in Iasimilar manner to the lower fixed contacts. The contact buttons 34a .aremounted on the extended leg i9 of -the U-shaped portion fitting in thehole 122 and the terminal 81 formed as part of the U-shaped por-tionattached to the other leg. The contact buttons 34a `are positioned inthe space between the partitions for engagement by a respective movablecontact. The side walls extend forwardly to the termin-als to recess theterminals in cooperation with the extensions -124b, 12512, 126b.

The portions 124.7., 125a, 126a have surfaces 124C, 125C, 126C engagingthe cross member 44 :and forming a channel with the sur-faces 84C, 85C,86C in which the cross member `44 reciprocates. The bosses `114, 115 andsurfaces 124e, 125C, 126e extend beyond the walls 112, 113 to providenarrow bearing surfaces for the contact carrier. Thus the contactcarrier is slideably held between the bosses 92, 93 and bosses 114, 115yand between surfaces 1240, 125C, 126e. At the panel end the armature isguided by the supports 94 and 130.

rhree posts 127, 128, 129 `are provided to engage the upper surface ofthe core opposite to the lower posts 95, 95, 97 engaging the lower4surface of the core for holding the core against vertical movement.Supports 130 opposite to the supports 94 on the lower member areprovided to engage the upper surface of the armature 31 and hold it fromvertical movement. The upper walls are recessed at 131:1, 13117 toprovide space for the .armature to reclprocate.

The upper and lower members 24, 26 are held together at the rear by thehooks 118 fitting in the notches 119 in the base 25 and at the front bythe fastening means 120 slideably fitting in the front ends of themembers 24, 26. The fastening means 120 is preferably made of nylon andhas rectangular plate 132 with fingers 1331;,

tuator is illustrated. The armature 230 is loosely fitted into theContact carrier 231 in order to accommodate to the seating surfaces 232of the E-shaped core 233. Extending between the ends of the legs of thecontact carrier or actuator are upper and lower web members 235, 236forming an opening 234 closed at ends by the end webs 237, 238. Theupper and lower webs have notches 239 t accommodate the heads of therivets 240. The upper and lower webs are spaced apart substantiallywider than the legs or guide members of the Contact carrier and the sidewalls are notched to accommodate the ends as illustrated in FIG. 18. Thearmature detachably engages the lands 241 and the webs 237, 238. Thearmature is removable endwise from the carrier and recess. Onde-energization the armature is held in the recess by the springs 222pressing the carrier against the base 15.1 and on energization is drawnand held against the E- shaped core by the magnetic forces to close thecontacts. The lateral wall 234 slidably engages and is guided by theraised supports 244 in the top and bottom walls in a similar manner tothe embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 12.

In FIGS. and 21 another embodiment of the carrier or movable contactactuator is illustrated. The contact ysupport 245 is a separate piecefrom the pushers 2de, 247 which correspond to the legs of the carrierillustrated' in the embodiment of FIGS. l to 12. The pushers areattached to the armature in the same manner as the legs or guide members42a, 4211. The pushers have rounded ends 246e, 247g for engaging themovable contact support 245. The contact support is guided by thesurfaces in the same manner as in the previous embodiment. Projections249, 250 are provided on the upper and lower sides for engaging theguide surfaces 251, 252, respectively, on the side walls of the coverand lower members.

These projections prevent the contact support from tilting. The pushersare guided and supported by the side walls in the same manner as theguide members 4t2-a, di2b of the carrier. The contacting engagement ofthe rounded ends permits the pushers to rock and accommodate thearmature to the seating surfaces on the E-shaped core. Thus the contactsupport 245 has a linear movement to seat and disengage the movablecontacts in a confined action while the pushers and armature may swingslightly to the pressures of the armature on seating. The pushers 246,247 are loosely held by the side walls and the bosses, such as bosses92, 93 of FIG. 8 which permit the pushers to shift in the casing.

The embodiment illustrated in FIGS. 22 to 28 is the preferred form ofthe invention and is substantially the same as the embodiment shown inFIGS. 1 to 8 except for the guiding of the contact carrier and for theholding of the upper and lower supporting members together by thefastening member. The upper and lower casing or supporting members 27uand 271 are substantially the same as in the other embodiment with thelower supporting member formed as a single piece with a mounting panel272. The upper member 27th or cover is hingedly attached to the paneland secured to the lower member at the front by the fastening means ormember 273. The front portions of the upper and lower members aresubstantially the same and the fixed contacts are of similarconfiguration and supported in a similar manner as in the previousembodiment.

The means for guiding the Contact carrier 275 are different from theembodiment of FIGS. 1 to 8. Instead of the contact carried being guidedby the vertical bosses 90 and 91 in the side Walls of the lowersupporting member, projections 276 and 277 (FIGS. 22, 23, 27) in thearmature supporting end 278 of the carrier fit in grooves 279, 280formed by the walls 281 and 282 of the upper and lower memberrespectively and by the inwardly extending center partition 283 at thefront of the lower member fitting between the movable contact supports234. The side legs 28S, 286 of the carrier 275 have rounded raisedportions 287:1, b and 28851, b on the upper and lower sura faces of theside legs which engage the fiat surfaces 296er, b and 291e, b oftheupper and lower members respectively for horizontally guiding thecarrier. Thus the contact carrier is held from sidewise and transversemovement so as to move longitudinally to the upper and lower members forclosing and opening the contacts on actuation and deactuation of theelectromagnet 274. At the armature end the lower member 271 has foursurfaces 292 for slidably supporting the armature supporting end 278 ofthe carrier and the upper supporting member has two surfaces 299 forengagement by the supporting end 278. The surfaces 292 and 299correspond to the supports 94 and 13b of the embodiment shown in FIG. 8.The armature supporting end 278 is similar to the embodiment shown inFIGS. 17, 18 and 19.

For interconnecting the carrier with the movable components of otheradjacent unit slots 293 and 294 are provided in the side walls 295, 296of the lower member and the carrier has connecting means 297, 298 withrecesses fitting in the slots for accessibility from outside of thecontacter. For actuation of other members above or below the contactorprojections 3ft@ and 391 on the cross member 302 of the carrier areprovided with holes 333, 304. The upper and lower members 270, 271 haveopenings 305, 306 aligned with the movement of the projections forrendering the projections accessible from the exterior of the contactorfor interconnecting with other units.

The electromagnet 274 is held in a similar manner to the otherembodiments on posts 367e, b, 368a, b and 3:89a, b of the upper andlower members respectively. However, in addition to the posts asillustrated in FIGS. 22, 23 and 28 members 310, 311 and 312, 313 areformed in the upper and lower members respectively to fit between theprojections 314, 315 and the coil 316, 317 of the electromagnet. Themembers 314B to 313 and the extensions 318 to 321 of the partitions ofthe upper and lower members hold the magnet longitudinally.

The coil of the electromagnet is connected to the terminals 323, 324 bythe Wires 325, 326 recessed in grooves 327, 328 and side walls of thelower member. The fastening means 273 is similar to the fastening means120 illustrated in FIG. 5 except that the holding stubs 33tla, b, 331a,b are on opposite sides of the fingers 332, 333. As illustrated in FIG.24 mating notches 334 to 337 are provided in the partitions 338, 339 and340, 341 on opposite sides of the terminals for receiving the stubs andholding the upper and lower members together. As illustrated in FIG. 25the corresponding partitions on the other side are similarlyconstructed. Partitions 343 and 344 have notches 345 and 346 for stubs331:1, 331b. The fingers 332, 333 engage the xed contacts in a similarmanner to the embodiment of FIG. 5. The fastening means 273 is firmlyinterlocked with the upper and lower members to hold the memberstogether and to firmly retain the fastening member from endwisedislodgment. However, a screw 342 is provided threading into the lowermember to further retain the fastening member in place.

Various modifications and changes may be made in the embodiment withoutdeparting from the invention as set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. An electrical contactor comprising a coil and core assembly includinga movable armature actuated by said coil and core assembly, a generallyplanar shaped contact carrier having contacts normal thereto at one endand supporting means at the other end for holding said armature normalto said carrier, a mounting base with two matching holding memberssupportably attached thereto and extending normal thereto for enclosingsaid coil and core assembly, said matching holding members having adimension lateral to said contact carrier substantially narrowe; thanthe dimension longitudinal to said carrier, each of said holding membershaving fixedcontact holding means at the opposite end of said holdingmembers from said mounting base and on opposite sides of the plane ofmovement of said carrier, each of said holding means having a set offixed contacts supported thereby to form pairs of contacts forengagement by said carrier contacts on actuation, said holding membershaving means for firmly supporting said coil and core assembly andhaving guide surfaces extending longitudinally and parallel to the planeof movement of said contact carrier and at least one holding meanshaving surfaces extending longitudinally to and normal to said plane ofmovement of said contact carrier for linearly guiding said contactcarrier in a plane on actuation by said coil and core assembly.

2. An electrical contacter comprising contacter components including acoil and core assembly with a movable armature and a contact carrierhaving contacts normal thereto at one end and supporting means at theother end for holding said armature normal to said carrier, a mountingbase, two matching contactor component hol-ding means forming anenclosing casing attached to and supported by said base and extendingtherefrom with a longitudinal length normal to said base substantiallygreater than the thickness parallel to said base, said holding membershaving side walls and panels connecting said side walls of a respectivemember and fixed contact mounting means between said side walls at theend opposite to said base forming a chamber in said casing, said fixedContact mounting means having a set of fixed contacts for engagement bysaid carrier contacts on actuation, said holding members having oppositemeans for firmly supporting said core assembly therebetween., said sideshaving facing guide surfaces extending parallel to the plane of movementof said contact carrier and at least one of said holding members havingsecond guide surfaces extending longitudinal and normal to the plane ofmovement of said Contact carrier for linearly guiding said contactcarrier in a plane on actuation by said armature of saidcoil and coreassembly.

3. An electrical contactor as set fort-h in claim 2 wherein one of saidholding members is permanently attached to said base to form a lowermember and said other member is detachably mounted on said base andlower member to form :an enclosing cover.

4. An electrical contacter as set forth in claim 2 wherein said facingguide surfaces are narrow and extend crosswise to the carrier for areduced engaging area.

5. An electrical contactor as set forth in cl aim Z, wherein said facingguide surfaces are formed in said ,side walls and said contact carrierhas raised portions enga ging said surfaces.

o. An electrical cont-actor as set forth in claim 2 wherein said contactcarrier has surfaces extending longitudinally .and normal to t-hemovement of said carrier and `said holding members have surfacesextending parallel therewith for holding said contact oar-rior againstsidewise movement.

7. An electrical contacter as set forth in claim 2 wherein said fixedcontact mounting means in said holding members have partitions extendinglongitudinally and normal thereto to isolate said fixed contacts andsome of said partitions have longitudinally extending slots opening awayfrom said base and interlocking means are provided fitting in .saidslotstc fasten said holding mem- `ers together.

S. An electrical contac-tor comprising a coil and core assembly with amovable armature; a generally planar- `shaped Contact carrier havingbridging contact holding portion and guide members with means forattaching said armature to said contact carrier; bridging contactsresiliently mounted in said bridging contact holding portion normal tosaid carrier; amounting base; a supporting member land a cover memberattached to said base with the cover member on top of said supportingmember forming .an enclosing casing extending therefrom with alongitudinal length normal to said base substantially greater than thethickness parallel to said base; said supporting `member and said covermember each having spaced side walls, panels connecting said side wallsand fixed contact mounting means between 4said side walls at Ithe endopposite to said base forming a chamber in said casing; fixed contactsheld by said fixed con-tact mounting means to form pairs of cont-actsfor engagement by said bridging conta-cts on actuation; said supportingmember and said cover member having means for firmly supporting saidcoil and core assembly in said chamber; said side walls Ahaving facingguide surfaces parallel to the plane of said contacter and respectiveguide members between facing surfaces for guiding the movement of saidcarrier in a plane; `said panels and said fixed contact mounting means4having parallel longitudinally extending walls normal to the plane ofmovement of said contact carrier and said contact carrier having atleast one projection fitting between said walls normal to one of saidpanels and said bridging Contact holding portion having means engagingsaid walls on said fixed contact mounting means to guide said carrierlinearly in the plane of movement.

9. An electricalfcontactor comprising a coil and core assembly, fixedcontacts, a reciprocable conta-ct carrier having contacts mountedthereon for engaging said fixed contacts, a supporting member having achamber for housing contactor components, a retaining member for holdingcont-actor components in said supporting member and closing said chamberto enclose contacter components, said supporting and retaining membershaving supports for positioning said coil and core assembly and havingon each side of said core narrow surfaces above land below said contactcarrier and lateral to the move- Iment thereof for slideably guidingsaid contact carrier on energization .and deenergization of said coiland core assembly .to move said moveable contacts in and out ofengagement with said xed contacts.

iti. An yelectrical contacter as set forth in claim 9 wherein saidcontact carrier has a U-shaped yoke piece with two guide members and across member, said guide members and said cross member having flatsurfaces for engaging said narrow surfaces on said members to providefor smooth reciprocal movement and an armature between `the ends of theguide members for actua-ting the carrier on ener-gization .anddeenergization of the coil and core assembly. y

ll. An electrical 4contacter as set forth in claim 1f) wherein saidguide members have offset projections and said armature has grooves withlips overlapping transversely with .said projections fitting snugly insaid grooves and bearing transversely against said lips to maintain thetransverse dimensions of said carrier.

liZ. An electrical contacter :as set for-th in claim 9 wherein saidmoveable conta-ct carrier comprises a moveable support for the moveablecontacts, an armature and armature guide and support securely fastenedto said armature, said armature guide and support being adjustably heldyby said upper and lower members, and in actuating relation with `saidmoveable support to force said moveable contacts into engagement onenergization .and to permit said armature to evenly seat on said coreand coil assembly.

i3. An electrical contacter as set forth .in claim 9 wherein saidmoveable contact carrier comprises a moveable yContact support, pusherrods and :an armature forV engaging said coil and core assembly; saidarmature being attached to said pusher rods at one end thereof; saidrods at the other end being convex and detachably engaging said contactsupport to force said moveable contacts into engagement with said fixedcontacts and having a rocking movement in relation to the contactlsupport to permit the armature to seat on said coil and core assembly.

i4. An electrical contactor comprising a mounting base for attaching acontacter Ito mounting means, upper and lower casing members extendinglaterally to said base to project the contacter outwardly from themounting means, fixed contacts mounted in said casing members at theopposite end to said base, an elect-romagnet with a core, coil andmovable armature positioned by said casing between said fixed contactsand said base, a Contact carrier attached to .said armature forencompassing said core and coil, said carrier having movable contactsresiliently mounted with springs in the plane of the carrier andarmature pressing the moveable contacts against the fixed contacts onengagement therewith and extending Ilaterally to said base, said casingmembers having upper and lower guide surfaces :arranged around said coreand coil to reciprocally support said carrier in aligned relation withsaid armature and core and coil so that the contacter has a narrowdimension lateral to the movement of the contact carrier.

15. An electrical contactor as set forth in claim la wherein means areprovided for supporting said iixed contacts, said supporting means beingseparable from said upper casing member and said lower casing member,and retaining means are provided for holding said members together andsaid supporting means in place.

16. An electrical contacter as set for-th in claim 15 wherein said upperand lower members have partitions extending normal .thereto .to form aninner chamber for said core and coil assembly and an open space forreceiving said supporting means, the partitions of the upper memberforming with the partitions of the lower member a lateral opening forsaid contact carrier to pass from the inner chamber to .the outerchamber and 1for engaging said fixed contacts.

17. An electrical contactor comprising a base panel, first and secondcontactor component supporting members extending from said panel andhaving the longitudinal dimension normal to said panel, said iirst andsecond members each having spaced parallel side walls, said side wallsof the first and second members on a respective side of the contacterbeing substantially in the same plane, front portions extending betweenthe ends of the side walls opposite to the panel and having fixedcontacts, a coil land core assembly, a contact carrier with moveablecontacts for engaging lthe fixed contacts, said side walls and frontportions having means for fixedly supporting said core and coil assemblyand means for slideably supporting said contact carrier wit-hin thetransverse projection of said walls and front portions to form acomp-act contacter.

13. An electrical contacter comprising a panel, two fiat contactercomponent supporting members extending nor-mal to the panel, each havinga width substantially greater than the depth to form a fiat elongatedhousing, a .thin contact carrier extend-ing parallel to the supportingmembers and having moveable contacts normal to the carrier, means foractuating the carrier on energization .and deenergization, each memberhaving a set of fixed contacts .in opposing relation and plug meanstting in the end of the members to lock the housing together.

i9. An electrical contactor comprising a panel, two

fiat contacter component supporting members extending normal to thepanel each having a width substantially greater than `the depth to forma fiat elongated housing, a Contact carrier extending parallel to thesupporting members and having moveable cont-acts extending normal to thecarrier, each member having a set of fixed contacts, each of said fixedcontacts having a generally S-shape to align portions of said contact:and said movcable contacts t0 reduce the depth of the members andprovide a dat contacter.

An electrical contacter comprising two supporting members on oppositesides of .a parting plane for housing electrical components, each memberhaving a set of spaced electrical contacts with a set of one membermatchf' ing the set of the other member on 'opposite sides or" theparting plane to form pairs of spaced contacts, each member having a setof projecting blocks with lthe blocks of 4one member matching the blocksof the other member to form pairs of blocks between pairs of electricalcontacts, fastening means having facing project-ions on opposite sidesof the parting plane fitting on said members with said projecting blockstherebetween for `locking said members together and having on oppositesides of the parting plane sets lof contact projections engaging saidelectrical contacts for holding said contacts in a respective member.

2li. An electrical contacter comprising a coil and core assembly, acontact carrier with contacts and armature and actuated by saidassembly, two matching contactor component `holding members forming anenclosing casing having a narrow dimension lateral to the movement ofsaid carrier and a long dimension longitudinal to the movement of saidcarrier, each of said holding members yhaving fixed contact holdingmeans facing one another -ton opposite sides ofthe plane of movement ofsaid carrier and each of said holding members having a set of fixedcontacts fitting in said holding means to form pairs of contacts forengagement by said carrier contacts on actuation, said holding membershaving means for firmly supporting said coil and core assembly andhaving surfaces extending longitudinally and surfaces extending latcrally for linearly guiding said contact carrier on actuation by saidcoil and core assembly.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,565,467 8/51Besag et al 200-87 2,692,314 10/54 Lawrence ZOO-104 2,724,814 11/55'Stubbers 339-198 2,924,685 2/60 Burch ZGO-l 04 FOREIGN PATENTS 1,059,0836/59 Germany.

829,689 3/ 60 Great Britain.

' BERNARD A. GrLHEANY, Primary Examiner.

ROBERT K. SCHAEFER, Examiner.

19. AN ELECTRICAL CONTACTOR COMPRISING A PANEL, TWO FLAT CONTACTORCOMPONENT SUPPORTING MEMBERS EXTENDING NORMAL TO THE PANEL EACH HAVING AWIDTH SUBSTANTIALLY GREATER THAN THE DEPTH TO FORM A FLAT ELONGATEDHOUSING, A CONTACT CARRIER EXTENDING PARALLEL TO THE SUPPORTING MEMBERSAND HAVING MOVEABLE CONTACTS EXTENDING NORMAL TO THE CARRIER, EACHMEMBER HAVING A SET OF FIXED CONTACTS, EACH OF SAID FIXED CONTACTSHAVING A GENERALLY S-SHAPE TO ALIGN PORTIONS OF SAID CONTACT AND SAIDMOVEABLE CONTACTS TO REDUCE THE DEPTH OF THE MEMBERS AND PROVIDE A FLATCONTACTOR.